Engagements
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Nanoelectrofuel (NEF) Battery Cell
Influit pairs proven battery technology with breakthrough, low-viscosity nanofluids to deliver the high energy density flow battery of the future. We have developed a novel type of rechargeable flow battery that features active energy storing materials in pumpable liquid form, which essentially allows us to use batteries in the same fashion as gasoline-powered engines. With our nanoelectrofuel (NEF) flow battery, we can achieve 1.5 times the volumetric energy density of Li-ion at 1/2 the cost with rapid charge refueling for EVs, conformal battery designs, decoupling of power from energy storage, interchangeable battery applications (e.g. vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-home), and electricity transportation without the grid (as a liquid - trucking, rail, fuel lines). We have made these fluids with very low viscosity using advanced nanofluid engineering, so parasitic losses are less than 2% of the total system power consumption. Influit’s solution builds on novel rechargeable nanotechnology-based NEF and flow battery designs. NEFs are low viscosity stable suspensions of nanoscale battery materials in water-based electrolytes, resulting in system designs competitive with Li-ion (~130 Wh/kg and 350 Wh/L) with operating temperature ranges from -40C to +80C.
NEF is a far cheaper, safer, environmentally friendly alternative with its patented rechargeable, refillable energy-storing fluids which are highly transportable. At its core, the technology and our sine qua non is our functionalization method to suspend solid materials in a solution and keep them suspended. This allows us to create composite material with the properties of solids that behave like liquids and allows for a new way to transport energy, whether that be thermally or, electrically, or radiologically. We can provide electrical energy in the liquid form of a non-consumable fuel that allows for closed loop decentralized energy distribution. NEF is 100% recyclable; the fuel is never consumed or expended as conventional fuels are but rather is simply discharged and recharged over many cycles. It is also water based and made of environmentally sustainable earth abundant materials. NEF production can be scaled using available and known industrial processes and is still cheaper and more energy dense than lithium ion batteries.